Houston Held Hostage: Dynamo Can't Break Decimated Quakes in Scoreless Slog

Well, that was painful. Houston Dynamo FC and the San Jose Earthquakes sleepwalked through ninety minutes of MLS mediocrity, finishing 0-0 in a match that felt longer than a cross-country road trip. Our pick on Houston? Dead on arrival.

We backed the Dynamo based on their fortress mentality at home and San Jose's injury apocalypse—seven starters out, including their top attacker. The logic was bulletproof: Houston averaging 1.43 goals per game against a skeleton crew should've been a layup. Instead, they ran into a brick wall wearing Earthquakes kits and couldn't muster a single finish.

San Jose's decimated roster somehow morphed into a defensive bunker, absorbing pressure and offering nothing going forward. Houston controlled possession but lacked any cutting edge, their recent finishing form evaporating when it mattered most. That xG overperformance we cited? Nowhere to be found. The Dynamo's home dominance (5-0-1 in their last six) hit a speed bump against the league's most undermanned squad.

Credit to San Jose's makeshift XI for grinding out a point on the road, but this was Houston's match to win. They didn't. We missed. Sometimes the crippled opponent plays possum better than anyone expects, and tonight the Dynamo had no answers for organized desperation.